The Interval Perception
by TerribleWaitress
Summary: "What's it like in New York City? I'm a thousand miles away but girl tonight you look so pretty, yes you do... Times Square can't shine as bright as you: I swear it's true." Sometimes you have everything you've ever wanted, but not at the same time. Penny and Leonard work through the highs and lows of being thousands of miles apart while their dreams come true.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N -** So! I know I'm working on like a gazillion stories right now but I just wanted to get this one out there and started because I keep thinking about it. I've written two (I think) little fics based on this idea already, and _Hey There Delilah_ keeps playing during my going-to-work playlist so I just had to do it. I promise I'm still working on the others, even if it is not being published! Hopefully now that I've got two weeks of consistent work schedule I'll have more time to write and get on here. Hope you are all well, and hope you all enjoy this story as it goes!

* * *

 _Oh my God, this is really it,_ Penny thought as she watched her two pink suitcases go down the check-in belt. Her suitcases were going to New York... _she_ was going to New York!

"Okay, you're all set!" Said the check in woman, handing Penny back her passport and boarding pass with a grin.

"Oh," Penny took her documents, quickly putting them into her bag. "Thank you." Turning to her husband and daughter, she smiled. "Lets go grab a coffee."

"Sure." Leonard took Penny's hand; the other hand was holding Isabel to his hip.

Isabel's eyes widened as they began to walk away and she turned to her father, patting the side of his head to ensure she had his attention. "Mommy forgot suitcases!"

While Penny giggled, Leonard explained, "she didn't forget, they're gonna be taken to the plane for her so she doesn't need to carry it around the airport."

"Air- _por._ " Isabel said. Leonard still couldn't work out if she was attempting to correct him or simply struggling to pronounce the word properly and trying to practice.

They walked into a coffee shop and found a table. Leonard and Isabel sat down; Penny hovered for a moment while they got settled in and pulled out her wallet. "I'm gonna go order. Is, you want a hot chocolate or a juice box?"

"Mmm..." Isabel twisted her lips in thought. "Hot chocolate. And cookie!"

"Another cookie?" Leonard chuckled.

"Yup." Isabel nodded. "Please!"

Heading to join the two-person queue, Penny took a deep breath. She hoped Isabel would be able to sleep after her extra cookies, especially since Leonard was already tired and probably didn't need a hyperactive three-year-old to keep him awake. But she couldn't help it; she wasn't going to be seeing her daughter for... far too long. Penny couldn't help but to spoil her today - and she'd already secretly left gifts for both Isabel and Leonard before they'd left the house.

Once she had ordered and paid, Penny headed back to the table. Isabel had pulled her coloring book out of Penny's handbag and was explaining to Leonard that he had to help her color the dress in blue - "and tiara as well!"

"Okay, okay." Leonard chuckled, accepting a blue pencil from his daughter. Penny had yet to overcome her aversion to crayons, so they always used pencils or felt-tip markers. Sometimes whiteboard markers, as Leonard would discovered when they were missing from the pen holder by his board.

"And Mommy too." Isabel handed Penny a pink pencil. "You can put pink where you want, 'cause it's like your suitcase."

The three continued coloring even once their drinks had arrived, making light conversation as though Penny wasn't about to fly to New York. But today that wasn't the case. Too soon they were packing up the pencils and coloring book and Penny was double-checking that she had all she needed with her.

They walked in relative silence to the security area, Isabel in the middle holding both her parents hands.

"Well... I guess this is me." Penny said quietly, coming to a stop.

"Yeah, guess so." Leonard nodded.

"Mommy gotta go now?" Isabel asked, her eyes filling with tears.

"Yeah," Penny kneeled down in front of her daughter, taking both tiny hands in hers. "Mommy's gotta go now."

"Oh."

As Isabel's face crumpled and she began crying, Penny pulled her into a tight hug. "It's okay Izzie - Mommy's gonna be back before you know it! And you and Daddy are gonna come and see me in New York, okay?"

"How long?"

Pulling back slightly, Penny reached into her purse and took out a brand new coloring book and set of pencils. "Here. If you color in one picture a day, starting today, that's how long until you and Daddy fly to New York."

Pouting, Isabel took the pencils and coloring book, hugging it to her chest. "Okay. It's not that big, so not that long. Right?"

"Right." Penny nodded. "And you can get Daddy to take a photo every night of your new picture, and he'll send it to me."

"Can I be in the photo?"

"Of course you can, sweetness." Leonard smiled, picking Isabel up again to place her on his hip. Isabel immediately rested her head on his shoulder.

"God, I'm gonna miss you guys so much!" Penny wrapped her arms around Leonard and Isabel, resting her head against Leonard's other shoulder. She could feel Leonard holding her in tight, and after a moment she lifted her head to look at him with teary eyes. "I love you so much, Leonard."

"I love you too."

"Thank you for believing in me."

"Nobody deserves this more than you."

Face crumpling as though she was going to start crying, Penny shook her head. "I should go, before I..."

"Is okay Mommy," Isabel said quietly. "We see you in one coloring book time!"

"You're right, sweetheart." Penny smiled. "I'll see you both in one coloring books time."

"Text me before you take off. And call me when you land!" Leonard reminded her. "You know I'll worry otherwise."

"Don't worry, I will." Penny assured him. She'd charged two power banks to ensure her cell would have enough battery to be able to call him the second she was off the plane. "Don't play too many video games. And not too many cookies!"

"Cookies!" Isabel grinned. "Gonna have cookie on plane?"

"Maybe. If they have them."

"Gotta have cookies!" Isabel pointed out, and Leonard made a mental note to pack cookies for when he and Isabel would fly to New York. "They yummy."

"That's very true." Penny agreed. "Okay... so..." Taking a deep breath, she picked her purse up off the floor. "Wait here until I go through?"

"We'll be right here."

"Kiss kiss?" Isabel asked, and Penny leaned forward to give her daughter a kiss.

Next, Penny turned to Leonard. She looked into his eyes for a while, hoping she could tell him everything she wanted to say without words. After a moment, she leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips.

Once they separated, Penny took a step back before she changed her mind. "Here I go."

"See you soon. Sooner than you'll know it." Leonard smiled. All Penny could do was nod, doing her best not to cry.

"One coloring book time." Isabel reminded them. As Penny began to walk toward the security entrance, Isabel called out "love you, Mommy! Bye-bye!"

"Love you too, Izzie!" Penny waved her hand. "Bye-bye!"

Isabel and Leonard continued waving as Penny disappeared through security and they could no longer see her. When Leonard stopped waving, Isabel hugged herself to Leonard's side. "For real, one coloring book time?"

"Yeah." Leonard nodded, before turning his head to smile at her. "One coloring books time."

"'Kay. I start in the car. I already miss Mommy."

"Me too, sweetness. Me too."

* * *

 **A/N -** Fun fact: 'one coloring books time' is inspired by one choir rehearsal where I started a song solo but was still eating my post-sandwich tangerine, so the conductor told everyone 'we begin in one tangerines time!' and that is how I time things in my head every so often, and often used to explain time frames to children this way at work.


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh my God, she is just the most _adorable_ little thing!"

"Right?" Penny nodded, a wide grin on her face. She was showing her friend a photo Leonard had just sent her of Isabel asleep in the car hugging her new coloring book to her chest.

Upon learning that she had been cast in the play in New York, Penny had befriended another girl on the Facebook group for the cast of the play who was also a non-New Yorker. Seeing that Maddie lived all the way in Texas, Penny had messaged her asking if she, by any chance, would like to share an apartment - Leonard had a colleague with a two-bed apartment currently unoccupied. When Maddie had responded that she was interested, Penny had phoned Leonard to tell him she would finally get to be living like Rachel and Monica in _Friends_ \- as long as they didn't hate each other once they met. Which Penny had now decided was impossible, because Maddie owned a gazillion pairs of shoes and wore the same size as her.

"Is she gonna be coming to visit her momma?" Maddie asked, still gushing over the photo. "I just _have_ to meet her!"

"During the school holiday - my husband has a project deadline around that time so it works out." Penny explained. "I just wish I could see them sooner."

"Aww. I'm sure the time will fly by once we're busy with rehearsals and then the performances!" Maddie assured her. "Mark said he's gonna try visit next weekend. He's got a real busy schedule once the performances start so I hope he'll have a chance to see the show when it's on."

"Oh, I'm sure it'll work out."

"Yeah, I mean, he can't miss seeing his fiancée on Broadway!"

"Exactly!" Penny quickly finished her reply to Leonard before putting her phone down. "God, I knew I was going to miss my family but... I didn't expect it would be _this_ much and _this_ soon."

Maddie sighed, nodding slowly. "I know... it kinda sucks. But hey, it'll get easier, right? I mean, that's what people say."

"I guess so. I _hope_ so."

"Wanna get some wine?" Maddie suggested. "Might make the first night a little easier."

Giggling, Penny raised a brow at Maddie. A girl after her own heart. However, Penny proceeded to shake her head in response and took a moment to decide whether or not to share her reasoning. "Before I left, Leonard and I were talking about trying again for another baby. So... I think it's better if I don't."

"Oh my God, that's so exciting!" Maddie squealed. "Good luck!"

"Thanks, though it's gonna be a bit difficult now given that he's in California and I'm all the way over here." Penny laughed. "But you go ahead with the wine, I'm happy to join you with my bottles of water."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I've done it before I can do it again. Just don't rub it in my face. That's neither romantic nor fair."

"I'll try, but I do love a good glass of wine in the evening. Whatever else you expect to be rubbed in your face ain't coming from me so... don't worry about that. Just the wine. And ooh, I fancy ribs. And prawn crackers!"

"Mmm, good shout. Chinese sounds _so_ good right now. That's what I'd be eating for dinner if I was at home anyway... it's Chinese food night." Penny explained. "Leonard's old roommate was crazy. It kinda stuck; the eating schedule. Let me get changed, and we can find somewhere. Explore the area a little."

Getting up, Penny took her phone with her and went to her new ( _temporary_ , she reminded herself) bedroom. Once the door was closed, she let out a deep breath. She was so grateful that she had somebody here to talk to, otherwise she would be dwelling too much on how badly she missed Leonard and Isabel. After quickly texting Leonard that she was going to go explore the city and get some Chinese food, Penny put her phone down and looked around her room at the clothes spread out in a half attempt of unpacking. It had always been her dream to go to New York - she wanted to make the most of it, and Maddie's presence was sure to help her do that.

* * *

"Hey... did I wake you?" Penny asked quietly, shyly smiling at the sight of Leonard's face on her iPad screen.

"No, I just got into bed a couple minutes ago." Leonard replied. "Everything okay?" He figured that, like himself and his daughter, Penny was simply struggling to get to sleep in different arrangements than normal, so he wasn't all too surprised that she was calling him at almost 3am New York time.

"Yeah... I just... couldn't get to sleep, that's all." Penny admitted. "How is everything?"

"A bit weird, and I guess it'll take some time to get used to the new routine..." Leonard ran a hand through his hair, and Penny could tell there was a hint of stress just from the brief look that crossed his face as he looked at the corner of his laptop where the time showed. "It took a while to get Is to go sleep."

"Really?" Penny asked, feeling slightly guilty. After all, her being away would obviously be a source of distress and confusion for her daughter, no matter how smart she was or how much they explained the situation to her.

"Yeah. She kept making a fuss of trying to stay up, and then when she got tired she got agitated, and then she was upset that you weren't there to say goodnight... then she woke up a few times... but she's finally properly fallen asleep now." Leonard rubbed his temple.

"Oh God..." Penny bit her lip, trying not to tear up. The thought of her daughter being so upset was heartbreaking. "I'm so sorry, Leonard. And you must be so tired."

"It's okay." Leonard assured her with a small smile. "We'll get used to it - all three of us. Did you enjoy your evening with Maddie?"

"Yeah. We're gonna do some sight seeing tomorrow and hunt down where to go for rehearsals so we're all set for the following day. It's gonna be kinda weird not using a car to go everywhere, but hey. I heard Maddie talking on the phone to Mark when I went to the bathroom like ten minutes ago so I guess she's struggling to settle in too. I'm glad I have her around." Penny said.

"I'm glad you have someone there too - and I'm sure she's grateful to have you there as well." Leonard smiled.

Nodding slowly, Penny was silent for a moment. Leonard always knew the right thing to say or do; she hoped Maddie found her presence as helpful as Penny did hers. And now it came to mind that Leonard may be able to help her with one more thing. "Could you... do you mind just going to Izzie's room?" Penny asked. "I just... I wanna see her before I go to sleep."

"Of course." Leonard nodded. In fact, he knew already that just by seeing Penny's face it would be easier for him to get to sleep. He had been thinking to suggest going to show Penny that their daughter was fast asleep; since Izzie's birth Penny had always needed that reassurance before she herself went to bed. Slowly, he got out of bed, unplugging his laptop from the charger and lowering the brightness of the screen in case it woke up Izzie when he went to her room. He quietly walked out of his room and down the hall into their daughters room, turning and adjusting the screen to that Penny could see her asleep. Izzie slept with a dim night light on in the far corner of the room, so the image was clear enough for Penny to see even via screen.

Letting out an almost silent 'aww', Penny held a hand to her heart and smiled wistfully at the screen. After a while, the camera was turning back around and she could see Leonard again. They remained silent until Leonard was back in his bed. "Thank you." Penny whispered. "I hope she has sweet dreams. Give her a big kiss from Mommy when she wakes up."

"I will. I gave her a goodnight kiss from Mommy too before she went to sleep."

Staring at her screen, Penny bit her lip. "I miss you so much, Leonard."

"I know. I miss you too."

As they sat in silence, Penny felt the tiredness start to kick in properly. Content at having seen both her husband and daughter, she figured now was probably the time to switch off and try get some sleep. She'd have to do it eventually. "I should go to sleep."

"Yeah, me too."

"Thank you, Leonard. I'll speak to you tomorrow."

"Let me know when you're up, okay? Goodnight, Penny. I love you."

"Love you too." Penny blew a kiss at the screen. "Sleep well. Good night."

As she slowly closed her iPad screen, Penny clutched onto the heart shaped locket hung around her neck, close to her chest. She continued to hold onto it as she lay down and closed her eyes. For a moment her heart raced as she thought about how long she would spend here alone, but as the metal warmed in her clenched hand she knew that really, she wasn't all that alone at all.


	3. Chapter 3

Since Izzie had been born, Leonard had mostly been a participant in the breakfast routine. Breakfast was the one meal Penny was good at preparing, and she'd adjusted to getting up early to feed Izzie as a baby so had kept to that schedule, even though their daughter now slept for far longer than necessary. Leonard knew Izzie had gotten that from Penny, and he also knew that eventually Penny would go back to her usual morning-hating self. But for the first time in his life, Leonard presently found himself suddenly in charge of the breakfast routine - an adventure he absolutely had not been prepared for.

"Mommy always gives me pink spoon!" Izzie folded her arms, scowling.

"Oh," Leonard quickly rushed over to the cutlery drawer to find the pink spoon. "Yeah, the pink spoon. I remember. Where is it?"

"No pink spoon?" Izzie now asked, looking at her father with wide eyes.

"No! No, it's not missing, I just... oh, here it is!" Leonard grinned as he found the spoon in question and handed it to his daughter, removing the offending normal spoon and placing it in the sink. "There you go. Now you can enjoy your cereal." He turned to the counter behind him to prepare himself some toast.

"Mommy always sits and has coffee when I eat."

"Do you want me to sit with you while you eat?" Leonard asked.

"Mommy would."

Nodding, Leonard abandoned his toast plans and sat down. His daughter looked at him pointedly; the same look Penny often gave him when he'd missed something obvious. "Oh!" He jumped up and poured himself a coffee before sitting back down. "There we go." Izzie finally began to eat her cereal, and he grinned to hold back his sigh of relief.

They were already running late because it had been a struggle to get out of bed after taking so long to fall asleep, and then Izzie had downright refused to get out of bed until he opened the curtains and promised to get her ice cream after school. Then he'd realized that he was now in charge of the breakfast routine and hadn't asked Penny how she managed to do it all. What was her secret? He'd have to find out. But for now he was trying his best because he knew Izzie was only being fussy because she missed her mother and this kind of change was difficult. Leonard himself was finding it difficult. But they still had months ahead of them, and he'd have to figure out a way to make this work.

"My cereal is soggy." Izzie frowned.

"I know, I'm sorry. It won't be soggy tomorrow."

"Okay." Izzie shrugged.

They ate in silence, Leonard continuously checking the clock on the oven timer. The moment Izzie had finished her final spoonful of cereal he stood up from the table. "Come on, let's go get dressed and get going."

Izzie got up from the table, following her father out of the kitchen. "Will you braid my hair?"

"Umm... Mommy never showed me how to braid hair."

"But I like having braids on Monday. Cassie has braids on Monday."

"Well, how about I promise to learn for next Monday? You don't wanna be late now, do you?"

"Mmm... no, I wanna play outside before." Izzie pushed open her bedroom door and her face lit up in a grin. "You put my clothes like Mommy!"

"I did." Leonard nodded enthusiastically, relieved that he'd at least gotten something right. "Do you need help getting changed?"

"Mommy says I'm a big girl cos I can get dressed by myself!" Izzie told him excitedly, rushing into her bedroom.

Quickly making his way to the master bedroom, Leonard got changed with a smile. His daughter wasn't wrong: most of her skills were slightly advanced for those of a three-year-old, which was something Penny always thanked him for passing onto their child. It made things that little bit easier for them, although Izzie's chattiness sometimes felt like more of a difficulty that she had better language skills than most children her age. Sometimes she just wouldn't _stop_ talking, and Leonard knew exactly which parent that gene had come from.

After checking that he had everything, Leonard made his way back to Izzie's room and knocked on the door. "All okay?"

His daughter appeared at the door, holding up her arms. "Did it!"

Bending down to straighten out Izzie's t-shirt and dress, Leonard smiled. "Great job!" Standing back up, he picked her up and sat her on his hip, fixing the sock that she had put on incorrectly: the heel was at the top. Still, she'd gotten the other one right. He set her back down once they were in the hall, helping her put her shoes and jacket on before putting on his own. She proudly grabbed her backpack - a pink Hello Kitty one Penny had purchased online - as he picked up his own bag and car keys.

"Ready to go?" Leonard held out his hand.

"Uh-huh." Izzie looked around as she took Leonard's hand; usually they would say goodbye to Penny at this point before leaving the house.

* * *

"Daddy!" Izzie yelled excitedly, running as fast as her little legs would carry her towards her father. After a day with more changes than she'd have liked, she was relieved to have this part of normality back. After circle time, they always played outside and then her father collected her.

"Hey, sweetness!" Leonard grinned, bending down so he could catch his daughter in a hug. They held onto each other for a little longer than usual; the day had felt far longer than a normal Monday would. "How was your day?"

"Okay." Izzie shrugged. "I missed you and Mommy."

"I missed you and Mommy too." Leonard smiled. "I got a call today - you might be moving up to Raccoon class!"

"I know. But I like Koalas." Izzie looked at her father, resting her hands on his knees. "Uncle Sheldon likes koalas."

With a chuckle, Leonard nodded. "He does like koalas. But Raccoon class means you get to learn different things - and you already know everything from Koala class, don't you?"

"I guess. Would Mommy be proud?"

"Of course she would! Do you know why?"

For a while, Izzie paused to think, and then her face lit up. "I'm a big girl."

"Exactly!" Leonard nodded. In fact, Izzie wasn't particularly big size-wise; she was quite dainty and petite, taking after her parents. But Penny always called her a big girl to annoy Sheldon, who was always trying to point out that smartness and size were two different things.

"I'll go to Raccoon class." Izzie decided.

"Good girl. I'll go in tomorrow to have a chat about moving you, and on your first day in your new class we can get ice cream afterwards. How does that sound?"

"Yummy!"

"It will be very yummy!" Leonard agreed, picking his daughter up and standing so they could make their way to the car. "What shall we have for dinner today?"

"Umm..." Izzie rested her head on Leonard's shoulder. "Pasghetti."

* * *

"Hi!" Penny grinned excitedly as the faces of her husband and daughter appeared on her iPad screen.

"Mommy!" Izzie screamed excitedly, dropping her fork so she could clap her hands together. She was sitting on her fathers lap so she could see the laptop screen better, with her plate directly in front of the laptop so she could continue eating. "Look, pasghetti!" She picked up a piece between her fingers, giggling as it fell onto her lap.

"Looks yummy!" Penny grinned.

"Mommy, 'member when you made me pasghetti? It was crunchy! We ordered takeout!" Izzie said gleefully, giggling at the story.

"Hey! That was meant to be our little secret!" Penny mocked shock.

Turning her head slightly to look at her father, Izzie grinned. "Mommy let me have noodles."

"Did she now?"

"Uh-huh." Izzie nodded, before resuming her meal with a large forkful of spaghetti.

"It was just once." Penny said; they'd agreed to try not give their daughter fast food or takeout unless it was necessary or a treat. "How are my two favorite people in the whole wide world?"

"We're doing good." Leonard nodded. "Izzie may be moving up to Raccoon class soon."

"Oh, that's fantastic! What a clever girl!" Penny cooed.

"'M big girl." Izzie managed to say, still working on her ambitious forkful of spaghetti.

"You really are! When would that be?"

"Probably next week, with a couple of hours at the end of the week to get her acquainted." Leonard explained. "I'm going in to have a chat with some of the teachers before work tomorrow."

"Oh, that's wonderful. I'm so proud."

"Yay!"

"Me too." Leonard agreed.

"Is New York like Raccoon class?" Izzie asked. "Better level?"

"Yeah, I guess so!" Penny grinned. She wondered if perhaps Leonard had made that comparison for Izzie, or if that had been something Izzie had realized herself.

"Thought so." Izzie nodded seriously before helping herself to another forkful of spaghetti.

* * *

"Are you on my side of the bed?" Penny raised a brow as Leonard answered her FaceTime call.

"Yes..." Leonard replied guiltily. "But in my defense, my laptop is on my side of the bed and I was checking my presentation."

"Oh, is that tomorrow?"

"In the afternoon, so I've got plenty of time to overthink every aspect of it tomorrow." Leonard chuckled.

"Don't be silly, you'll be fine, just like you were with the last five million presentations. Did Izzie get to sleep any quicker than yesterday?"

"Umm, not really. But it'll take time. It's been an up and down day for her."

"Really?"

"Yeah..." Leonard sighed. "She kicked up quite the fuss in the morning but after a while she settled down. She didn't eat her sandwich but the day was fine. When she got home she decided to make a mess in my office and bed time was the same struggle as yesterday... like I said, it will take her time to adjust."

"You need to make sure she's got the pink spoon at breakfast." Penny advised. "And put your toast in first _before_ you make the cereal, that way you can eat at the same time as her - oh, and on Tuesday she likes to wear purple pants. I don't know why. And make her one half of the sandwich with ham, and the other with jam. No butter." With a sigh, Penny bit her lip. "I think that's everything... I wish I could come back to make things easier for you both."

"No, no, it's okay! We'll manage, don't worry." Leonard smiled reassuringly at his wife. "Thank you for those tips. I realized this morning that I should have like, taken a seminar in Penny's Breakfast Routine because... it is _difficult_."

"Practice makes perfect!"

"Evidently."

"Hopefully she'll adjust to... to not having me around. God, I can't believe I'm on the other side of America to you both." Penny frowned.

Realizing that his worries over the perfect routine probably weren't helping Penny in adjusting to life away from home, Leonard decided to change the subject. "Are you looking forward to rehearsals starting tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'm excited to meet everyone and start getting the script going from page to stage. That's how the Director worded it in his email - page to stage."

"I like that phrase."

"Yeah, me too." Penny smiled. "I've even learnt all my lines, which is a change."

"That's always good." Leonard chuckled. He could all too well remember when, years back, Penny had woken up at 2am fretting that she hadn't memorized her lines for _A Streetcar Named Desire_ and he'd had to stay up and help her learn them.

"Maybe I'll be able to send you some videos from rehearsals. I can't wait to try on the costumes as well!"

"You have always loved getting dressed up!"

"Still do! We had a look around Fifth Avenue today, and oh my _God_ I can't wait to let myself loose in those stores!" Penny clapped her hands together.

"Wow, Fifth Avenue better watch out."

"I've seen some really cute things for Izzie too and _you_ , Mr., are gonna be looking _ho-ot_ real soon in some suave tuxes."

" _Suave_?"

"Yeah. Suave." Penny giggled. "I really do miss you, Leonard."

"I know. I miss you too."

"Can I see Izzie again? I know she's asleep but it really helped me last night."

"Of course." Leonard got out of bed, and like the night before he lowered the brightness on his screen and quietly made his way over into their daughters room. Izzie was fast asleep, her peaceful face illuminated by her night light. He let Penny watch her for a moment before turning the screen back to him and returning to their bedroom, where he got back into bed. "She sleeps like an angel."

"She does, doesn't she?"

"You should sleep too, you sleepy snoring angel."

"Hey!" Penny tried to glare at him, but her yawned ruined the intensity of the glare. "You're right, I should."

"You want to be fresh as a daisy for rehearsals tomorrow."

"So do you for your presentation." Penny nodded. "Don't forget the purple pants."

"Purple pants, pink spoon. Got it."

With a soft smile, Penny adjusted her position in bed so she was ready to sleep when the call ended. "I love you, Leonard." She blew him a kiss almost automatically.

"I love you too. Goodnight, Penny."

"'Night baby. Sweet dreams."

For a moment they simply looked at the images of each other on their screens, before once more saying goodnight and finally hanging up. Leonard put his phone on Penny's nightstand along with his glasses before moving his laptop under his pillow and shutting off the nightlights on either side of the bed. Lying down, he inhaled the faint scent of Penny's shampoo, which seemed to permanently reside on her pillow. It felt comforting and made him feel like she was right there next to him, not snoring yet because she hadn't fallen asleep properly yet. With that pleasant image in his mind, Leonard let himself drift off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

"Yay!" Maddie squealed, her face lighting up as she read the first message in her list of notifications, still half-squatting in the midst of going to sit down on the floor for their break. "Mark got the time off to come here for the weekend!" She finally fully sat down, crossing her legs as she hurriedly replied to his message.

"Oh, that's so good!" Penny smiled, pulling her water bottle from her backpack. Leonard had bought the backpack for her as gift, telling her 'trust me, it'll be easier in the city to lug around a backpack on the subway'. She'd only used the subway a handful of times but upon experience how busy the commute was and the amount of stuff she took to rehearsals, she'd realized that Leonard was most definitely right.

"I know, right?" Maddie grinned, pulling her bag towards her to take out the lunch she'd prepared for herself. "He's gonna arrive late on Friday, but it means we get all of Saturday together before he leaves on Sunday night."

Taking a long swig of her water, Penny nodded. "That'll be so nice for you both."

"Yeah, it will. I just really hope he'll be able to fly over when the show starts because he's only going to get busier... but I guess this is better than nothing." Maddie said thoughtfully as she opened her Tupperware box. "At least you _know_ your husband and daughter will get to see you in the show."

"Come on, I'm sure Mark will be able to make it over." Penny assured her friend as she unwrapped her sandwich. "He's not gonna miss his fiancée on Broadway. That's what the people who love us do - they move mountains to show us their support."

"That's true." Maddie agreed. She'd come to realize that the only reason Penny wasn't spending her time moping too much about missing her family was because she'd put their needs first. The only thing Penny loved more than shopping was her family - and from their few short shopping trips since they'd moved into their apartment, Maddie knew that Penny loved to shop just as much as she did, and that was a _lot_. And even though it was very clear that Penny missed her husband and daughter dearly, she didn't complain much about not getting to see them sooner.

"Hey," one of their cast mates, Sherie, came over and sat down beside Maddie and Penny, "have you guys learnt your lines for the next scene like... completely totally on-the-ball know them?"

Tilting her head from side to side, Maddie scrunched up her face. "Kinda... I could blag it."

"Oh, good." Sherie released a relieved sigh.

"My husband made sure I knew all my lines." Penny rolled her eyes with the hint of a fond smile.

"I tried to get my fiancé to help me but he got _way_ too carried away with it and it got annoying." Sherie laughed. "What did you think of the scene from this morning? Could you tell I half-blagged my way through that?"

"Nah." Penny shook her head. "But that might be because they kept cutting every few lines."

"Which was _so_ much fun." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"Gave me time to think though." Sherie said. "I'm so excited to see the costumes though - especially the dresses!"

"Me too!" Penny and Maddie agreed in unison.

* * *

After a long and tiring day of rehearsals, Penny was very grateful to be back in the apartment with her feet up and watching TV. She wasn't paying much attention, as it wasn't something she was particularly interested in - Maddie had been watching a channel Penny hadn't even heard of and was too lazy to get up and change it - but it was nice not to be thinking so much. She'd never done a play on this large a scale before, and there was a lot more to it than the productions she'd done back in Pasadena. Maddie had gone to pick up some pizza for their dinner and a few bits from the Duane Reede around the corner, explaining that she wanted to look tip top for when her boyfriend came to visit. Penny felt strange knowing she was having pizza for dinner on a Tuesday, as back in Pasadena she'd be having Thai takeout - she and Leonard hadn't gotten entirely out of Sheldon's eating schedule. Leonard made an excellent Pad Thai, and right now she was totally craving that homemade Thai food with the smell drifting around the apartment. If she closed her eyes Penny could imagine herself back in their apartment and the sound of Leonard cooking in the kitchen opposite the living area. But she'd be watching a re-run of _Friends_ , not whatever Maddie had put on before leaving.

"I'm ba-ack!" Maddie announced, and Penny opened her eyes once more.

All of a sudden Penny felt like she was facing a wall of sadness. "Could you get my phone please on your way in? It's charging in my room."

"Sure." Maddie kicked off her shoes and set down her shopping bag. She carried the pizza box through with her as she collected Penny's phone and joined her on the couch.

"Thanks." Penny took her phone from Maddie. "This show sucks by the way."

"It so does not!" Maddie gasped, opening the pizza and throwing a glare in Penny's direction even though her attention was now on her phone.

"Doesn't even seem like something you would pick to watch."

"Okay, admittedly normally I wouldn't but I always watch this with Mark so I've started to kinda like it."

Scoffing, Penny rolled her eyes and took a slice of pizza. "That's just lame."

"Nuh-uh! You're the one who watches _Doctor Who_ before bed and has _Star Wars_ soap-on-a-rope." Maddie pointed out. "The soap thing is kinda weird but admit it, you only watch _Doctor Who_ before bed because it's something you got used to doing with Leonard."

Chewing on her pizza, Penny admitted her defeat with a few minutes of silence. Eventually, she turned her head slightly to look at Maddie. "It's Darth Vader."

"I know it's Darth Vader, Mark forced me to watch _Star Wars_ with him as well."

"Leonard went to some symposium in England right before Christmas last year and one of the guys told him about an experiment he was doing with this gas. Leonard had brought some of that gas home when we'd started dating again and it makes your voice go all funny, like really low and I found it really funny so I said 'Leonard I am your father'. Anyway, since Izzie was born we started doing Christmas stockings and that Christmas... that stupid Darth Vader soap thing was in my stocking. He said he saw it in this store in England and couldn't miss out on the opportunity."

Maddie couldn't help but giggle. "Sounds like he really turned you into a nerd if you're quoting Star Wars!"

"I don't know why I took the stupid soap. I don't even use it."

After a pause, Maddie admitted, "I brought this hideous pair of socks with me that Mark bought me. They're not even my size and I hate them. The colors of the stripes just don't _go_. On our second date I wore these _gorgeous_ pumps, I'll show you a photo later, and by the time we'd finished dinner it was pouring with rain. Mark ran to the nearest store that was still open and bought the socks so my feet wouldn't get all wet and mucky because we'd decided to _walk_ to the damn restaurant. Honestly, it was the worst outfit _ever_ but... I don't know why I took them with me either."

"I want to see these socks." Penny said, a small smile on her face.

"Oh, absolutely not!"

"Come on, you see my Darth Vader thingy!"

"You're the one who put him in the bathroom!"

"It's soap, that's where soap lives!"

"And my ugly socks live hidden under all the other pretty socks, I'm not removing them from their habitat."

"Fine." Penny folded her arms.

"Oh, and please don't tell Mark I took the socks with me."

"You can stop me from seeing the socks but you can't stop me from telling Mark." Penny raised a brow.

Scowling, Maddie released a sigh of defeat. "Fine, I'll show you the socks in the morning."

"I look forward to it." Penny gave a small nod and picked up another slice of pizza. "By the way, can we have Thai food next Tuesday?"

"Uh, I mean, we can have it like... sooner than that, if you want Thai food. But I guess Tuesday works too." Maddie shrugged.

"Thank you."

* * *

"I'm going to Howard and Bernadette's tomorrow to learn how to braid hair." Leonard sighed. "Halley has one of those freaky head mannequins that you can put make up on and do their hair."

"They're not freaky, Leonard, they're great! It's where all little girls learn their make up artistry skills!" Penny pointed out. "I can't believe Halley is old enough to know what make up even _is._ "

" _I_ can't believe you never taught me how to braid our daughters hair and now I have to learn on a creepy dolls head. Although it's better than Howard's original suggestion of using the Lisatronic 3000."

"Ugh, he still has that?"

"Yup, in storage at the university."

"That's kinda gross." Penny shuddered.

"It is. Even the creepy doll heads are better than that."

"When Izzie is a bit older and a bit better with... you know, coloring in, we're getting her one of those dolls."

"Fine. While our daughter excels in some things, coloring is not one of them." Leonard chuckled. "Although today's flower looked nice and colorful."

Nodding, Penny smiled fondly. It was true that their daughter was not so apt at coloring between the lines, but given that she was more advanced than many children her age with speech and general cognition, that didn't really matter. "I liked the rainbow petals."

"She was trying to count the pages left in the book but she gets frustrated when she can't remember the next numbers and gives up."

"Maybe that's better in some ways, to not know how many days there are left. Knowing there's such a large number just... makes it a little harder."

Leonard wished he could hug his wife at that moment and erase the frown from her face. "I know. But those days will pass by and before you know it there'll be zero pictures left to color in. D'you want me to take you to see Izzie?"

"Uh-huh." Penny replied quietly, trying her best not to tear up. It had been a long day and although she appreciated Maddie's company and getting to share their stories, nothing compared to her evenings back home cuddled up on the couch with Leonard and Izzie.

As had become a routine of sorts, Leonard quietly got out of his and Penny's bed and carried the laptop through with him to Izzie's room so Penny could see that their daughter was safely fast asleep. Just as Izzie had her coloring book to end the day with, Penny found that having the chance to see her daughter asleep and say goodnight to Leonard - despite the time difference - made the separation just that little bit easier.


	5. Chapter 5

Laughing as Maddie skipped off with Mark silently mouthing 'thank you, thank you, thank you!' over her shoulder, Penny shook her head. "Is this what girls did in college? Find plans so your roommate can have sex in private?"

"You didn't go to college?" Sherie asked.

"No." Penny said defensively.

"Oh. Well, luckily for me my roommate was hardly ever in our room."

"Where was sh- oh, sorry, stupid question." Penny giggled.

"Yeah. But we did put something on the door handle as a warning just in case."

"That must have been a huge turn on for whoever you brought home. Lets get naked, but first let me put a warning sign on the door!"

"Better than your roommate walking in while you're doing things your roommate doesn't really want to see you doing in your shared room." Sherie shrugged. "Once I was doing this strip tease thing for my college boyfriend and my roommate _literally_ walked into my bare ass."

Both girls burst into a fit of giggles as a passer by whipped their head back in a double take, her brows raised so high they threatened to invade her hairline. Penny gripped onto Sherie's arm, still giggling loudly, as they continued to make their way down the street. "Oh my God! Did you see her face?"

"I know!" Sherie cackled, pausing once more as they approached a burger joint. "Fancy a juicy burger to celebrate the end of the week?"

Huffing in annoyance, Penny looked at Sherie as though she'd just suggested putting ice cream in a burger. "Friday is for Chinese food. You know, like Chinese takeout."

"Umm... okay, sure."

As they continued walking, Penny sighed. "Okay, fine, it doesn't have to be Chinese takeout. We can just go to a place with Chinese food."

"Because that's _so_ different?"

"It is! Takeout is, you know, the lazy option. But someone still has to go out and get it. If we go to a restaurant it's more like a dining experience and your food is nice and hot when you eat it, and you eat it on real plates that you don't have to clean." Penny explained. " _Or_ , you can make your own Chinese food at home, which is fun. That's what we do with my daughter. But usually my husband does most of the cooking so I don't recommend we do that because I am not the best cook."

"You know I _do_ understand the difference between the dinner options?" Sherie snorted. "But I know a place you'll just _love_ in Chinatown. Have you ever had a hot pot?"

"What the hell is hot pot? What are you inviting me to do?"

"Trust me, you'll love it. Everyone does. Once you have hot pot... you will love hot pot forever."

"Sounds weird, but I'm willing to try it."

* * *

"Mommy has been eating a _lot_ of Chinese food lately!" Leonard chuckled as he received a message from Penny with a photo of her third consecutive Chinese hot pot dinner that weekend.

"But it Sunday!" Izzie frowned. "Yes?"

"Yes, sweetness, it is indeed Sunday! But it seems she has really taken to this... hot pot thing."

"What's hot pot?"

"I guess we'll find out when we go to New York!" Leonard grinned. He had of course heard of hot pot, but never tried it himself. His parents had never had the time to take him out for meals and living with Sheldon hadn't exactly given him the chance to explore his food choices either.

"Mm'kay." Izzie shrugged, and began packing up the toys she had been playing with. Today, much to Leonard's amusement, Spiderman had been Barbie's boyfriend and their baby was the garlic clove that had mysteriously gone missing from Leonard's chopping board while he'd been making lunch. As he watched the garlic clove get chucked in the toy box, Leonard made a note to rescue it later on. "Is time for me to watch movie? I putted my toys away."

Aside from the food schedule that Leonard and Penny struggled to stray from, their daughter had also caught onto their television schedule. On Sundays, Leonard would watch _Babylon 5_ \- usually while Penny went to the gym and salon - and then Izzie would get to pick a movie to watch before dinner. At first they had thought she played with her toys close by to be near her parents, but they'd realized her true agenda was waiting for the third time she heard the end credits to certain TV shows.

"You're absolutely right!" Leonard lifted his daughter onto his lap, where she snuggled up against him like they did every Sunday for the first hour of her chosen movie. "What will it be this week, sweetness?"

* * *

"Are you ready for your first official day in Raccoon class?" Leonard asked as he tucked his daughter into bed.

"Mm-hmm." Izzie yawned. "Gonna miss my friends."

"You'll still see them when you get to play outside, and you'll make lots of new friends!"

"Can I still have braids tomorrow?"

"Of course you can. I didn't learn them for nothing!"

"Is funny when Halley showed you to do braids." Izzie giggled.

"It sure was." Leonard chuckled. "Maybe she can teach you how to do braids as well."

"Is tricky."

"I know."

"But... I could practice on you!" Izzie's eyes lit up at the thought.

"You could try... but we might have more success with Mommy's hair." Leonard pointed out.

"I practice on you!" Izzie insisted. "Then when we see Mommy, I show her!"

Grinning, Leonard kissed his daughters forehead. "I'm sure she would love to see that."

After a wide yawn, Izzie smiled contentedly up at her father. "One less sleep 'til Mommy."

"One less sleep." Leonard agreed. "Tomorrow, we can tell her all about your first day in Raccoon class and show off your braids. So lets get plenty of rest, okay sweetness?"

"Okay dokay Daddy." Izzie giggled lazily.

* * *

As Leonard answered her FaceTime call, Penny let out a groan in greeting. "I think I ate too much hot pot."

"Huh. You think?" Leonard grinned teasingly. "You've only had it three nights in a row!"

"But it's _so good_!" Penny pointed out.

"And Chinese food on Saturday night! _And_ Sunday night!"

"Well, on Friday it was Sherie's suggestion. Saturday we went there for a dinner with the whole cast to celebrate our first week of rehearsals. And today we went before Mark had to go catch his flight."

"Mark is... Maddie's fiancé?"

"Exactly!" Penny grinned. "You know, I appreciate that Maddie and Mark needed their private time and I'm happy to give them their space but its gonna be nice coming home and knowing there's no risk of interrupting them. Oh my God, what are we gonna do when you and Izzie come to stay?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well we can't have _our_ private time with our daughter there, can we!" Penny pouted, flinching a little as she tried to hold back some of the post-hot pot nausea.

"Oh!" Leonard caught onto what his wife was asking. "Well, could Maddie or... Sherie? - maybe they could look after her for a few hours?"

"A few hours?" Penny grinned wickedly and bit her lip. "What are you planning to do to me, Hofstadter? Never mind, I love it anyway."

"I'm sure I can Google something."

"You do that sweetie." Penny blew him an air kiss in the direction of her iPad camera. "I reckon Maddie could look after her for a bit. I'll tell her its good practice for the future, plus she already thinks Izzie is adorable and Izzie would _love_ Maddie's hair."

"Does she wear it in a braid on Mondays?" Leonard chuckled.

"No, but I'm sure she would for Is."

"I'll book a hotel this week, statistically prices go down a little around this time every year before they raise them again."

"Nerd." Penny scoffed jokingly. "How was the movie tonight?"

"The movie was good. Not as cozy without you on the couch with us."

"Aww." Penny pouted again, but with a slight frown. "I miss you both so much. I love hot pot but I love Sunday movies with couch cuddles before dinner even more."

"We miss you too, Penny. But like Is said tonight - one less sleep."

* * *

"Uh... Penny?" Maddie knocked cautiously on the bathroom door. "You alright?"

"I think so."

After a slight pause, Maddie put her hand on the door handle. "Can I come in?"

"Guess so." Penny sat up slightly and wiped at her face with the back of her hand as Maddie came in.

"Oh, you ain't looking so good." Maddie shook her head. "You want me to get you some water?"

"Already got some." Penny held up the bottle of water she'd brought to the bathroom with her. "I'll be fine in a bit. I think that's me done for the night."

"Oh. Well, that's good." Maddie sat down opposite Penny on the cold bathroom floor. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I just need a couple minutes before I stand up again." Penny gave Maddie a weak smile.

"Well, you sure look like you've got this thing down pat." Maddie gestured to Penny's water bottle.

"Sure do." Penny nodded, staring in thought at one of the blue tiles above Maddie's head. Something in her stomach flipped, and she knew in that moment that it wasn't because she was about to be sick again.

"That hot pot place Sherie introduced us to does _not_ agree with your stomach, huh?"

It was the stomach flip that came with a realization that made you both nervous and excited at the same time. It was butterflies, but far too many all at once with nowhere to go.

"I don't... I don't think it's the food." Penny said slowly, her voice quiet.

"What else could it be then? That hot pot is _all_ you've been eating this whole weekend! Weird that it only got you and none of the rest of us."

"No... it's not the food." Penny brought her gaze back down to Maddie. "It's not the food."

Raising a brow, Maddie frowned. "Well then what is it?" When Penny didn't respond, the silence helped click things into place in Maddie's brain and her eyes went wide. "Oh - oh my _God_! _Penny_! D'you think so? For real?"

"I... yeah, I really think so." A small smile flitted across Penny's face, but her expression quickly turned to that of panic. "Oh my _God_! The play! What am I going to do? The _costumes_!"

"Hey relax sweetie, that'll be fine. It's six weeks of rehearsals and three months of shows. You won't even be showing much by the end of it, I mean, you can't be _that_ far along."

"I guess."

"When would you normally get your period?"

"Two days ago, but it's been here and there since I stopped birth control. Although last time I got morning sickness around the time I should have had my period too - and my morning sickness happened around 3am. I remember because I hated having my sleep disturbed so much I would wake Leonard up just to make him suffer as well."

"Huh. Makes sense, given that it's just gone midnight now. And you were sick last night. _And_ the night before."

"You _heard_ that?"

"Ugh, how could I _not_? Least romantic thing _ever_ when you're trying to snuggle up to your fiancé." Maddie scoffed. "But now that I know why, you are _totally_ forgiven - this is _so exciting_!"

"I don't even know if I'm actually pregnant yet - I mean, I feel like I am. But I don't want to get my hopes up yet until I know for sure."

"As soon as the store opens in the morning, I am going out to get you a pregnancy test." Maddie decided. "And some fruit for a smoothie! Momma's gonna need her vitamins!"

"You don't have to do that." Penny said, but a grin very quickly spread across her face. "But hell, if you want to, I am not gonna stop you."

"Do you have any other symptoms? Like, you don't wanna eat certain foods, or your boobs hurt or you're super tired or something?"

"I'm always tired, I wait until my husband goes to bed in California before I go to sleep here in New York, and then wake up at the ass crack of dawn to get ready for rehearsals." Penny placed her hands over her breasts to see if she felt any different. "The girls feel okay."

"Seriously? _The girls_?"

Rolling her eyes, Penny shook her head. "Yeah, Leonard's _breast friends_. If you think he's a nerd now, go figure what he was like when we started going out."

"Huh. I cannot wait to meet this guy." Maddie grinned. "You should get to bed, ma'am. Your face has color again and you are gonna need all the sleep you can get!" Standing up, she held her hands out to Penny.

Hauling herself up with Maddie's assistance, Penny smiled. "I can't wait for you to meet him because that'll mean _he_ can be checking the girls for me."

"O-kay," Maddie let go of Penny's hands and giggled. "Goodnight, Penny. And drink that water, you're gonna need it for the morning."


	6. Chapter 6

"Daddy!" Isabel ran over to her father, who lifted her up off the floor in an embrace and spun her round. "I did my first week in Raccoon class!"

"So you did, sweetness!" Leonard grinned, leaving a kiss on his daughters nose before putting her back on the ground. "Do you know what that means?"

Isabel's eyes lit up and she stomped her feet excitedly. "Ice cream!"

"That's right!" Leonard knelt down slightly. "Do you have all your things to take home?"

"Uh-huh." Isabel nodded. "Daddy, can my friend Maria come play next week? She's new. I was her first friend!"

"Of course!" Leonard stood up, taking his daughters hand. "Do you wanna show me who Maria is? I can ask her Mommy or Daddy when she can come over next week."

"She's there." Isabel pointed towards a young girl with tight brown curls and a woman with neatly braided hair, both of them having a conversation close to the gates. Leading her father over, Isabel waved as they approached. "Maria!"

"Hello," Maria gave a wide grin and tugged on her mothers hand. "Momma, this is my friend Izzie."

"Well hi Izzie! I have heard _so_ much about you from Maria."

"Good things, I hope." Leonard chuckled, extending a hand. "I'm Leonard Hofstadter, Izzie's father."

"Rachel Day." She shook Leonard's hand politely.

"Izzie wanted to know if Maria could come over some time to play dolls and have dinner."

"Not onlydollies," Isabel pointed out, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "Can Maria come Monday? Please?"

"Pretty please?" Maria added, batting her long dark lashes at both parents.

"Well, Monday would work for me. My eldest daughter Charlotte has a recital and Maria does not like sitting quietly through all of that!" Rachel shook her head. "But if that doesn't suit you we can work out another day."

"No, Monday is fine with me," Leonard confirmed. "Is there anything in particular Maria likes to eat for dinner?"

Raising her brows worriedly, Isabel looked up at her father. "But Daddy, is Thai food on Monday."

"I know, sweetness," Leonard leaned down slightly so he could pick his daughter up and rest her on his hip and speak to her face-to-face, "but Maria might not like Thai food, or she might want to have something else."

Grinning, Rachel gently rubbed Isabel's arm assuredly. "Not to worry; Maria _loves_ Thai food. We don't have it that often so I'm sure it'll be a nice treat for her - and home made as well!"

"Very yummy." Maria contributed with a nod, rubbing her stomach. "Can't wait!"

"Perfect. I'll make sure I use my best cooking skills." Leonard said, setting Isabel back down on the ground.

"I'm sure it'll be delicious," Rachel said kindly as she took Maria's hand. "Well, we best get going otherwise we'll be late getting Adrian and Charlotte. It was nice meeting you - and I'll see you on Monday."

* * *

"Hey, come in," Leonard stepped back to allow Rachel inside before closing the door and heading over to the front room, where he poked his head around the doorframe. "Maria, Is, Mrs. Day is here - time to pack up."

"Smells like that Thai food was delicious," Rachel smiled as Leonard returned. "And it's just _Ms_. Day."

"Oh - sorry. And thanks... about the food. I hope Maria liked it."

"I'm sure she did! I hope she wasn't too cheeky - she can get really over the top sometimes!"

"Oh, not at all," Leonard assured her. "Izzie is the same. She can turn into quite the drama queen at the least expected moment. Sometimes I feel like I need an extra pair of hands!"

"Is it just you, then?"

"Yeah, at the moment it's just me."

"Aww."

"My wife is in New York at the moment rehearsing for a play," Leonard explained. "Izzie is like a tiny little version of her so she knows her every move before she makes it."

"Ah, well, that would explain why I haven't seen Izzie's mom yet." Rachel cleared her throat and then gestured to the framed photograph on the wall. "Izzie really does look like her. I thought it was her big sister or something."

Leonard was slightly dubious of this, given that there was a significant age gap between the two; if Izzie was a teenager then he probably would have bought that. But why would she bring that up in the first place? It's not as though Penny's age was relevant to her being in a play in New York. Awkwardly, he nodded. "Yeah, they really do look alike. Which is good."

At that moment, Isabel ran from the front room to the hallway, followed by Maria. Isabel reached up and tugged at Leonard's hoodie sleeve. "We tidy it all up!"

"Momma," Maria stood on tiptoes and took her mothers hands, "Mr. Hof... ster-"

" _Hofstadter_ ," Isabel corrected.

"He made Pad Thai! It was _soo_ yummy Momma!"

"I'm sure it was! Put your shoes on, baby - did you say thank you to Mr. Hofstadter?"

"Thank you Mr. Hofs-stadda!" Maria turned and grinned widely before sitting on the floor to put her pink Velcro sneakers on.

"People," Isabel looked up at her father and shook her head with a dramatic sigh.

Chuckling, Leonard lightly ruffled Isabel's hair. "My daughter is very proud that she can pronounce _Hofstadter_. She'll probably learn to spell it faster than my wife did!"

" _D-a-y_!" Maria spelled out loud and stood up proudly.

"Well done baby, but _Day_ has considerably fewer letters than _Hofstadter_ ," Rachel laughed. "Well, thank you for having Maria over. I'd be happy to have Izzie over sometime if she'd like."

Jaw dropping in excitement, Izzie jumped up and down on the spot a couple of times. "Can I? Can I, Daddy?"

"I'm sure you can! We can arrange a day sometime in the week, I need to confirm a couple of work meetings and things first."

"Yay!" Maria and Isabel chorused excitedly; Leonard smiled fondly, glad that his daughter was getting to experience the joys of visiting friends - something that he had rarely had the chance for when he was her age. Especially with Penny away, Leonard was glad that Isabel would have other people around her so she wouldn't focus too much on missing her mother and let it isolate her from her peers.

* * *

Having finished updating her mother on the busy life of her three-year-old self, Isabel contentedly pattered away to start on that days coloring before she had to get ready to bed.

"Is has been waiting for this video call all week, she was almost _bursting_ with things to tell you," Leonard chuckled.

Brows raised in amusement, Penny nodded. "And I have just been _literally_ bursting with excitement at the thought of getting to talk to my baby girl! I'm so glad she's enjoying her new class and has made new friends."

"Me too. She was so worried about not having friends in Raccoon class. That went away quickly, especially when Maria started on the Wednesday and she was, in her words, 'not the new girl no more'," Leonard grinned. "Which she took as the opportunity to be the new girls first friend, of course."

"Oh, I'm so proud of our little girl."

"She's very excited to go to Maria's house next week," Leonard said, before pausing in hesitation. "You know, something weird happened when Maria's mom came to pick her up."

"What?"

Hesitating, Leonard furrowed his brow. "Don't take this the wrong way, but has anyone ever mistaken you for Izzie's sister?"

"Are you saying I don't look _young_?" Penny raised a challenging brow before bursting into laughter. "Of course not, she's three years old - I have lines on my face older than her! Although most of them are probably from the amount of screaming I did whilst giving birth to her. And besides, lets face it, between you and Is the girls just aren't what they were three years ago."

Leonard nodded thoughtfully. "Huh."

"Why?"

"Because Maria's mom said she thought you were Is' sister when she saw the photo on the wall, and I just thought that was a kinda strange thing to say."

"Oh Leonard," Penny shook her head at his naivety. "Did she also mention that she's never seen Izzie's mom before?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Did she point out the fact that she's a single parent?"

"Well, she pointed out that she was a _Ms._ and not _Mrs._ "

"She probably thought it would be just _great_ if you were also a single parent, given that she has never seen anybody else collecting Is, especially since you both work at the same university."

"For play dates?"

"For _dating_!" Penny rolled her eyes.

"Oh. Oh!"

"I hope you made it clear you have a _wife_!"

"I would think the wedding ring and family photograph on the wall made it pretty obvious," Leonard said.

He had a point, Penny thought as she nodded slowly. "Well, that's true."

"And if it didn't, Is'll set her straight when she goes to play there next week - she talks non-stop about you."

"Aww, really?"

"Really," Leonard smiled. "Did she tell you what she brought to her first show and tell in Raccoon class?"

"No, she didn't mention it. What did she bring?"

"The coloring book you gave her. She explained to her class that every night before getting ready for bed, she colors in one page, and that this means there is one less sleep to go until she gets to see her Mommy in her play in New York."

* * *

Despite all the changes that had happened in the lives of the four friends, they all continued to lunch together every day - and every day, Sheldon continued to surprise them in different ways that caused their eyes to roll.

"Leonard, I noticed that you have taken your leave two days earlier than you had planned."

"What are you doing snooping on the staff vacation roster?" Leonard asked, annoyed. He hadn't been planning on telling the guys - of their entire group, they were the worst secret keepers aside from the children.

"Amy is forcing me to go to my mothers ridiculously religious birthday party and told me to book the time off in advance. Apparently _all_ the family will be there - as if that's supposed to convince me!" Sheldon shook his head. "Anyway, I saw you on there and the dates didn't match up with what you told us."

Providing the usual eye roll, Leonard brought his hands up as if to question him further but then brought them back down to the table. "So what?"

"Well, your project deadline falls during the new first day of your leave."

"Maybe I want to have the day off once my project is submitted!"

"Unlikely, you always spend the rest of the day going over what you might have gotten wrong the second after you submit the project," Sheldon pointed out.

"He's right dude," Raj nodded in agreement.

"Well, maybe I'm changing my ways and I want to celebrate. It's a big project and I want to enjoy myself once it's over and done with!"

Howard scoffed. "How? Your wife is in New York. You won't be seeing her for a few days after your deadline to be able to celebrate."

"Not like that! Well, a little like that."

"Oh, Leonard is going to enjoy _himself,_ " Raj wiggled his eyebrows.

"You and Howard should have stayed broken up all those years ago, that's disgusting and not what I meant." Leonard shook his head.

"I can't _believe_ you would pointlessly chance your vacation dates! You are jeopardizing your _entire_ project!" Sheldon groaned. "I know it's not exactly a huge deal, but come on, Leonard, give yourself a chance."

As Raj and Howard rolled their eyes, Leonard sighed and pushed his tray away slightly. "Fine, look, I changed my vacation days because I want to surprise Penny and arrive a day early in New York. Amy has agreed to looking after Izzie for one weekend and Bernadette the next so that the two weekends before I go I can focus fully on the final parts of the project and submit it early. I have spoken to Siebert and he is fine with that. Izzie doesn't know we're going a day early yet, so _please_ do not tell my daughter _or_ Penny about this."

Sheldon's eyes went wide. "Amy agreed to looking after your infant without consulting with me first?"

"Sheldon, she is my daughter and your Goddaughter, so please do not refer to her as _infant_ \- and it's one weekend!"

"Oh, this is such a romantic surprise!" Raj said, recovering from dabbing at the tears in his eyes. "Have you booked the hotel room yet? Let me know, I will contact them and have them prepare the room for you - how much are you willing to spend on rose petals?"

* * *

"She's such an angel," Penny whispered, reaching out to her daughter via the iPad screen. "Sleep well, baby girl. Mommy loves you." Leonard let his wife have a moment to watch their daughter sleep before quietly leaving the room and returning to their bedroom. "She's so perfect, Leonard. And I'm so proud of you for looking after her by yourself."

"She looks after me too," Leonard smiled. "Each morning when I wake her up, she gives me that same look you used to give me if I woke you up before eight a.m. and it reminds me of you so much that I can almost feel you in the room too, asking why I'm waking everyone up in the middle of the night."

Penny smiled fondly at this. "Well I don't want to risk being outnumbered by morning people."

"Don't you worry - Izzie has taken on your firm dislike of early mornings, except instead of coffee she needs her cereal. Even though you've been waking up early ever since we had Is, I know you still need some time before I dare speak." Leonard grinned. "So don't worry, it's still just you and Is versus me."

"Leonard..." Penny bit her lip and looked at his face on her screen before sighing. She had made a decision, and as much as she wanted to tell him, she wasn't going to do that over a video call. "I love you. I can't wait until you're here. I need you... I really wish you were here with me right now."


	7. Chapter 7

Rolling her eyes, Penny put her hands on her hips as she realized her friends attention was not on her as it should have been. "And once again, you're on your phone! What is _so_ important that it just can't wait until you've listened to my monologue?"

Maddie shrugged and locked her phone. "Nothing. Sorry."

"No, you're right - maybe I need to make it a bit more dramatic." Penny twisted her lips as she consulted her script once more. She was due to rehearse it in front of everyone tomorrow for the first time and wanted it to be perfect. Admittedly she kept stopping and starting whenever a fresh idea popped into her mind, but she wished Maddie would watch her properly.

But Maddie had a different objective, and quickly returned her attention to her phone.

"Seriously!" Penny made a lunge forward to grab Maddie's phone when she looked up and saw that her attention had once again left her, but Maddie leaned back into the couch and locked her phone again. " _What_ is so interesting on your phone that you can't pay attention for like five minutes?"

"Nothing, I told you!"

"Then why have you been on your phone since we got home? You haven't even taken your shoes off!"

Kicking off her scuffed sneakers, Maddie smiled. "There you go girl, now I've taken my shoes off. Happy?" She looked down into her hands as her phone beeped with an incoming message and quickly removed the notification. As Penny glared at her and made for her phone once more, Maddie quickly put it behind her back. "Okay, look, Mark and I are sexting, and I just need to send one more message."

"Oh, seriously?" Penny withdrew and shuddered. "While I'm rehearsing? That's so gross, Maddie. Ugh, I need to pee again. You better be done with your sexting by the time I'm back."

"Okay!" Maddie called out, and waited for Penny to be safely in the bathroom before bringing her phone out from behind her back and unlocking it once more to resume her messaging.

 _ **I can't wait! She'll be soooo excited! And don't worry I'll look after Izzie for u guys BELIEVE ME Penny will want some alone time with ya ASAP. Anyway I have to go she wants to practice her monologue for tomorrows rehearsal so email me the flight hotel etc and I'll make sure she ends up in the right place at the right time!**_

Grinning, Maddie sent the message and exited the app before muting her phone. She hadn't wanted to not pay attention to Penny; however she'd been distracted since she'd read her messages that morning. Penny's husband had texted her to say that he was planning on arriving in New York a day early to surprise Penny on her day off work, and seek help in making that happen. Since then, she'd been bursting to find out more about his plan and was grateful to have the distraction of rehearsal so she didn't show too much excitement in front of Penny. At least now that she and Leonard had discussed things in more detail, she could quietly plan ahead and make sure that on their no show day Penny would end up in the same location as her husband and daughter. Maddie just hoped that Penny's current mood swings would have faded by then.

Since she also felt bad for lying to Penny about what she was doing on her phone, Maddie decided to head to the kitchen to grab a bag of pretzel M&Ms and two glasses of peach Iced Tea - Penny's latest pregnancy cravings (last week had been blue cheese and strawberries).

"I smell pretzel M&Ms!" Penny announced as she left the bathroom.

"Does pregnancy also give you a superhuman sense of smell?" Maddie laughed as Penny returned to their living area.

Shooting Maddie a glare, Penny snatched her script up off the couch. "Just watch my monologue."

"You got it, I'm all yours." Maddie grinned, picking up her script and pencil so she could make notes.

"No more texting?"

"All done."

"Happy ending?"

"Oh... yeah." Maddie nodded. "A very happy ending indeed!"

* * *

It was taking a lot of effort for Penny not to add the date of her first OB appointment to her and Leonard's joint calendar. While she was ecstatic at the idea of surprising him with the news of her pregnancy when he came to New York, a part of her was screaming to tell him the good news. She had had the pregnancy confirmed by a doctor a week ago, and he had helped her get an appointment with one of the best OB-GYNs in the city at her request. Since then, Penny had gone onto the joint calendar on her phone every single day and clicked on the date she'd be having her appointment.

As much as Penny desperately wanted Leonard to be there for the first scan, Penny wanted it to be a surprise for him even more. At six weeks pregnant (Penny was certain of this, as she and Leonard had obsessively learnt all the facts during her first pregnancy) and three weeks into rehearsals, she would be having her first scan in two weeks time - which meant she then had a week until Leonard and Izzie arrived in New York. Penny figured she could keep her mouth shut for the next three weeks of video calls to California. The idea of being able to show Leonard the ultrasound was exciting, and it would be more useful for Izzie to see some physical evidence of the baby.

As a way of releasing any thoughts and feelings she had that were pregnancy-related, Maddie had bought Penny a simple journal. She had written, **'WHOA, BABY!** ' in purple ink on the yellow front cover, and stuck pictures of female and male superheroes on the front.

With a smile, Penny finally began to write in the privacy and silence of the twenty minutes Maddie would be out purchasing dinner ingredients.

 _ **I am going for baby's first ultrasound in TWO WEEKS! AAH! Dr. Walsh is one of the best in New York - I Googled her in true Leonard Hofstadter style. Can't WAIT to see the scan!**_

Pausing to giggle, Penny couldn't help the grin on her face when she wrote her next sentence.

 _ **Can't wait to see the look on YOUR FACE, LEONARD HOFSTADTER!**_

 _ **Signed with love (and the urge to pee),**_

 _ **Six-week-pregnant Penny Hofstadter**_

Satisfied, Penny closed the journal and placed it on her bedside table. Amongst many other things, Penny couldn't wait until the night he'd be putting his glasses on the very same bedside table.

* * *

"Hey lovebug," Leonard grinned as he answered Penny's video call. "This is a little earlier than usual - are you getting an early night?"

"Uh, kinda..." Penny bit her lip nervously. "You said Izzie would be at a sleepover tonight."

"I did... she's at Howard and Bernadette's tonight. Why?"

Clearing her throat, Penny gave Leonard a smile. "Well, Maddie has kindly gone out for a drink with Sherie tonight."

"O-kay," Leonard raised a brow in confusion.

"And I went shopping after rehearsals and got this," Penny slowly undid her robe to reveal a black lace lingerie set that she had specifically chosen to make Leonard's brows rise as high as they were now, "so I was thinking we could... you know."

"Aah," Leonard smirked as he made his way to their bedroom. "We haven't done that in a while."

"Nope," Penny sat up slightly to give Leonard a better view, "and I want you to do it exactly like we last did this the second time round."

"Alri- wait. The second time?" Leonard raised a brow as he sat down on the bed.

"Well the first one doesn't count for me - oh you need to wipe that smug smile off your face! That was a while ago, and this time the first time _will_ count for me... although I can't promise that. It's been a long time and you got me all turned on with that article of yours you sent me."

Pulling a face, Leonard paused in unbuttoning his shirt. "Really?"

"Hey, don't stop unbuttoning!" Penny frowned. "When I read the article it was your voice in my head and it was... wow. I have no idea what it was about but if I was in LA I would have driven _straight_ to your lab. In this underwear."

"Well then maybe I should explain what my article was about."

"Oh God," Penny whispered. Whether it was the pregnancy hormones or the mere fact that she had been away from her husband so long she no longer cared. "Please do."

* * *

"Oh look at you, you are literally _glowing_ ," Maddie grinned at Penny as she walked into the kitchen and headed straight for the coffee machine, "and _not_ in the pregnancy kinda way. How was it?"

Blushing, Penny took a sip of her decaf coffee before replying, "pretty much as good as sex via FaceTime can get."

"Woo-oo!" Maddie laughed. "It's a good thing by the time you'll be showing Leonard will already know because you would have to get _really_ inventive with camera angles."

"I feel like you've invested too much time thinking about that," Penny raised a brow, "and that we haven't known each other long enough to really get _that_ personal about _that_ kinda stuff."

"I'd normally agree but we live together, we're in a play together, and we both are not the biggest fans of being away from our SOs, so you know..." Maddie shrugged, "plus since you ran into the bathroom while I was using the shower so you could puke..."

"Yeah... sorry about that. Besides that first night that Mark was here... man, that was a real eye opener," Penny giggled. "How did drinks go last night?"

"Oh, we actually ended up going to that Belgian place and getting food as well. It was _delicious_."

"Oh man, you had a second dinner?"

"Well I'd prefer calling it a... late night snack, but yes, essentially it was a second dinner."

"Ugh, I wish I'd known!" Penny groaned, setting her mug down.

"You were a little bit preoccupied having internet sex with your husband! It's the reason I had to go out in the first place!"

"I know, but I would have asked you to bring me some food home!"

Shuddering, Maddie frowned. "Following on from our earlier discussion I'd like to say that I draw the line at buying you your post-sex snacks."

"Alright, that's fair enough," Penny sighed. "Anyway, I have a favor to ask you - unrelated to said previous discussion."

"Okay, shoot."

"My first scan is two weeks and... obviously Leonard won't be there and nor will any of my friends from home so... would you like to come with me?"

"Oh my God! Are you serious?"

"Yup, I'm serious. But I've gotta warn you, I'll probably start crying."

"That's absolutely fine."

"And normally when I start crying, Leonard starts crying," Penny explained.

"Trust me, I'll probably start crying _before_ you even think about crying," Maddie jumped up, standing behind Penny's chair to circle her in a hug. "Oh my God this is so exciting! Thank you for inviting me!"

"You _promise_ you'll cry?"

"Hell yeah! Oh my God I can't believe I'm gonna be the first person to see your baby!"


End file.
